The price is right

[brevity]

I’m going to use the NVidia 8000 series for my question and assume there are only 3 models:

Best: 8800
Good: 8600
Okay: 8500

And I’m going to add the 7900, which is, for arguments sake, between the 8500 and 8600 in terms of performance, except we know it does not support DX10.

Let’s also assume all three 8000 models are launched simultaneously.

Question:

At launch, in terms of quality vs price ratio, which of the four models makes the most sense to buy.

After one year, which makes the most sense.

My guess is 7900 at the launch of the 8000 series, and 8800 after a year. Am I right in terms of the quality vs price ration?

Final question, would you agree that this reasoning applies well to most consumer electronics.

 

[SYNERGY]

You missed out the GS/GT/GTS/GTX denominations.
Far Right is the best.
Noticable price difference between models

 

[proximiti99]

At launch, in terms of quality vs price ratio, which of the four models makes the most sense to buy.

After one year, which makes the most sense.

My guess is 7900 at the launch of the 8000 series, and 8800 after a year. Am I right in terms of the quality vs price ration?

Final question, would you agree that this reasoning applies well to most consumer electronics.

Dude, you need to find the right compromise in this situation. Do you want value for money or do you want some quality with that. Also, after 1 year any1 would almost certainly choose a different type of kit cos it's either outdated or the price has come down etc etc.
Finally, IMO this applies to PC related stuff not general stuff. Value depreciation is much more on PC equipment.

 

[supersunbird]

I'd expect the 7900 to be quite a bit better than the 8600 in DX9, due to not being crippled by 128bit bus and more, but I dont have figures to go with it though...